Legal Question in Immigration Law in Pennsylvania
Result of Disorderly conduct case dismissal
Hi:
I was booked for a disorderly conduct case 1.5 yrs ago. However, I plead not guilty and the case was dropped. Will it affect my case if I apply for naturalization?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Result of Disorderly conduct case dismissal
If the charges were dropped and you did not admit to any wrongdoing, it should not adversely effect your case; although you must disclose the incident. It is always advisable to have an attorney when dealing with immigration matters that involve anything to do with criminal issues.
Re: Result of Disorderly conduct case dismissal
You asked if dropped charges will affect your naturalization application.
The lawyerly answer is that it depends. You must disclose the charges and the circumstances surrounding the incident. The immigration authorities have wide latitude to decide what is and what is not important to an applicant's case. In some cases the authorities will ignore the matter without a conviction, in other cases merely the charge will be enough to have your application denied. At the lowest levels the discretion of the authorities leads to inconsitent treatment. Treatment gets more consistent as one appeals, but you need to avoid that.
Your best bet is to hire an attorney to walk you through the immigration process. I would be pleased to assist you.
Regards,
Roger Traversa